Mark Cuban blames Jalen Brunson, father for guard leaving Mavericks for Knicks
Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, watches during the first half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series between the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz, Thursday, April 28, 2022, in Salt Lake City. Credit: AP/Rick Bowmer
INDIANAPOLIS — Jalen Brunson was held out Tuesday night for what the team called right hand maintenance but he found himself in the news.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, speaking to reporters before the team played Tuesday, explained his side of Brunson’s departure as a free agent and after taking the high road in the summer, he shifted the blame to Brunson and his representatives, including his father, Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson.
“Things went south when the parents got involved,” Cuban said according to ESPN’s Tim McMahon. While sources indicated that the Mavericks never offered him more than four years and $56 million last season and the team never made him an offer in the summer when the Knicks agreed to a four-year, $104 million deal with Brunson. Cuban said that they didn’t trade him at the deadline because the team was hopeful of trying to change his mind on departing.
Cuban reportedly showed The Dallas Morning News a series of texts between himself and general manager Nico Harrison in which they detailed the dealings with Brunson’s representatives as evidence of his claims.
Safety first
Brunson had played in three games after sitting out two with what the team called a sprained right hand. But with the playoff seeding set, the Knicks opted to shut him down — although Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau would not say whether Brunson would appear in one of the two remaining games.
“You’re looking at, OK, when you get into these situations is the rest more important than playing and the rhythm?” Thibodeau said.
“Obviously we want to do both. We want to make sure that we’re playing to the best of our ability going in. If we feel the player would be better served, the team better served, by not playing in that particular game, then that’s the way we would approach it. Obviously you need health. That’s the number one thing. And then to be playing well, also.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
